Privacy
by katydidit
Summary: The ninth doctor seems to have forgotten that human women tend to like their privacy.


"Rose, what would you say to..."

"Doctor!"

The Doctor froze in the doorway. He _knew_ he'd forgotten something. There were some doors, Rose had said, that, when closed, meant he shouldn't enter, that he should wait for her to come out. Originally, she'd tried shutting him out of an entire wing of his ship—her entire bedroom—but he'd put up a fight about that, and she'd conceded.

But the bathroom door…that was the one he wasn't supposed to open, and now he remembered why. It'd just been so long, you see, since he'd traveled with a woman on board: he was used to having full run of the ship, going anywhere on the TARDIS without worrying about…well, about anything. He'd forgotten that human women tended to…like their privacy.

Rose grabbed frantically for a towel, and he quickly averted his eyes, but he'd seen her—so much of her. His eyes, unbidden, had already traveled the length of her body, flickering over the smooth pale skin, surely warm to the touch, if the heat of the bathroom was any indication. Rassilon, she was so young. Her body looked almost delicate, fragile: certainly nothing he should be looking upon (let alone thinking about touching!), lest he somehow manage to break her or scrape that perfection with his calloused, too-old hands. She had almost been glowing, standing there in front of the sink and brushing her teeth as the light from the trillions of stars outside, came in through the window.

But now he was very studiously observing the floor as she hurriedly rinsed out her mouth and came to stand in front of him, clutching her towel around her protectively. Her toenails had recently been cut, he noted, and…just, even her feet were fetching. Rose's toeses, he thought to himself, and chuckled at his own very bad rhyme. He felt a hand smack his shoulder—too lightly to hurt: more to get his attention.

"Yeah, so what're you laughin' at?" She demanded, blushing a very light shade of pink. He could see the shade spreading down towards those toes of hers: her shoulders flushed first, and then the very tops of her breasts—no. He forced himself to meet her eyes. She looked hurt, almost. Ah, he could see why. Wasn't a good idea to laugh after any situation wherein you'd seen your dear companion completely nude. He'd learned that a while back as well. Funny how she made him forget such things.

"No, Rose, it's nothin' like that," he said, stepping out of her bathroom to give her a little more space. She was having none of that—she followed him, taking a step closer to him once again. "I…was just looking at your feet and thinkin'…"

Rose dropped her gaze to her feet now, curling her toes as though to hide them from his sight. "Well, what's wrong with them?" She looked back up at him, and, somehow he could see her every insecurity reflected there in those hazel depths for a moment. She blinked, then, and they were gone, but he still reached up to cup her cheek in the palm of his hand, without a word. She managed to meet his gaze for a second, but was the first to look away, blushing yet again. Her hair was still damp, sticking to her neck and shoulders and her face like rivulets of wet sand, and he pushed a few bits of it off of her face, behind her ears, so he could see her better.

Funny, that. He'd just gotten a look at all of her, and now he was more concerned with her face.

"Doctor?" she asked. Her voice broke uncharacteristically, and he realized that he'd just been staring at her for several very long moments. He dropped his eyes again, stepped away from her one more time.

"Sorry Rose," he said quietly. "Forgot to knock—you know. It's been a while since I've been with a girl—a woman. Well, not been with, exactly…you know what I mean." Was he really rambling on like a nervous schoolboy? Honestly, he was the Last of the Time Lords…this wouldn't do at all. He cleared his throat and looked up at her. "Was just comin' in to say good night, I guess. I'll never understand why you apes insist on such strange sleep schedules, but I suppose I'll let it pass. 'Night…sorry about…that," he finished, still somewhat awkwardly, but at least he didn't feel so inept now that he could actually finish a sentence. He briefly considered stepping forward to hug her, but figured, given the situation, that was probably a bad idea. Instead, he pressed a quick, chaste kiss to her forehead and turned to leave the room, leaving one very confused, very embarrassed, and very naked human girl looking after him.


End file.
